Delhi High Court to examine suspension of social media accounts over copyright strikes

The Delhi High Court will consider whether social media platforms can suspend or delete user accounts on the basis of copyright strikes, in a case arising from the suspension of content creator Saurabh Maurya’s Instagram account following copyright claims that were later found to be false.

Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani asked the parties to address whether such suspensions or deletions are consistent with principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Sh reya Singhal v. Union of India a nd the Delhi High Court in My space Inc. v. Super Cassettes Industries Ltd.

Appearing for Mr. Maurya, senior advocate Diya Kapur, along with advocate Nakul Gandhi, submitted that third parties had uploaded his videos on other platforms, manipulated the dates of the uploads and subsequently issued copyright strikes claiming ownership of the content.